Embodiments of the invention relate to the field of objects, and more specifically to annotations associated with objects.
Shortly before the launch of Apollo 11, a hazardous situation was discovered to exist when a particular switch on a control panel was actuated at the wrong time, even though actuating the switch at the critical time appeared to be harmless. Because there was insufficient time before launch for a design modification, a supervising engineer relied on a simple social-engineering technique of taping a piece of paper to the control panel on which a message was handwritten not to throw the switch at the wrong time. It so happened that the warning message was attached to the control panel along with a number of other previously attached notes providing various warnings.
During the Apollo 13 mission, command-module operator Jack Swigert attached a note on the release switch for the Lunar Lander in order to remind himself not to accidentally send the rest of the crew off into space.
As useful as notes on control panels have been, computerized control panels that are currently in use present a difficulty for such panel notes. Notes written directly on computer screens can be difficult to erase, and any dynamic changing of underlying display windows can cause such marks to be orphaned.
To illustrate such a situation, consider, for example, a control system for a piece of equipment or for a factory environment having a computer-screen type display for a control panel instead of a mechanical-type control panel. When an operator wants to leave a note or a message for another operator that identifies, for example, optimum settings, settings to avoid, and/or explains control configurations for particular events, the technique of using notes taped to the control screen and/or notes written on the control screen using, for example, a wax pencil could be potentially disastrous. While using a wax pencil allows notes and messages to be written directly on the display screen, the notes and messages can become orphaned or point to inappropriate places when the underlying display on the screen changes.
Now that computers and display screens are so widespread, more users are experiencing various problems associated with annotating a computer screen. For example, consider a computer user who attached a note to the screen of their computer in order to remind the user to turn the printer on before selecting the print button, thereby avoiding locking up the computer. As another example, consider an office environment in which the “cancel scan” button for a hypothetical application ImageObtain is used for continuing a scan option. Accordingly, each user becomes stuck when wanting to continue scanning from the plate to the feeder and interrupts a worker sitting nearby the computer for guidance. In another case, a teacher of a fast-paced course is having difficulty explaining to students the correlation between what he is saying and what is being displayed on a computer screen. In all of these examples, control-panel-type annotation would solve the problem, but such a solution cannot be implemented because the control panel is displayed on a computer screen.